U.S. surveillance and military advising in Iraq advises & assists Iraqi soldiers during a training exercise at
Besmaya Range Complex, Iraq, 10 November 2015 At the invitation of the Iraqi Government, on 15 June 2014 President Obama ordered dozens of United States troops to Iraq in response to offensives by ISIL (see previous section '
Background'), to assess Iraqi forces and the ISIL threat. Obama sent a total of 275 troops to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, following the
capture of Mosul by
ISIS. Probably between 15 and 26 June, the U.S. also began to fly missions with crewed aircraft over Iraq in secret. On 26 June 2014, the U.S. started to survey over Baghdad also with armed drones "primarily" for protection of 180 U.S. military advisers in the area. In July, Obama announced that due to the continuing violence in Iraq and the growing influence of non-state actors such as the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the United States would elevate its security commitment in the region. Approximately 800 U.S. troops secured American installations like the
Embassy in Baghdad and the Consulate in
Erbil. Around 13 July, a classified military report concluded that many Iraqi army units were deeply infiltrated by either Sunni extremist informants or Shiite personnel backed by Iran, which would bring Americans advisors to Iraqi forces into danger. Around 5 August, the U.S. military forces in Iraq were acting to "assess and to advise
Iraqi security forces as they confront
ISIL and the complex security situation on the ground."
ISIL conquests and massacres; U.S. reaction During the first 15 days of August 2014, ISIL expanded its territories in northern Iraq. On 3 August, they conquered
Sinjar and surrounding area, including Wana and
Zumar, In reaction, on 5 August, the Iraqi military started dropping food and water for the tens of thousands of Yazidis stranded in the Sinjar mountains, and the U.S. started
directly supplying Iraqi Kurds with weapons to fight ISIL. On 7 August the U.S. also started dropping food and water for the Yazidi Kurdish civilians trapped in the
Sinjar Mountains where the U.S. had a consulate and a joint operations center with the Iraqi military. Obama further defended his decision by saying: ...the world is confronted by many challenges. And while America has never been able to right every wrong, America has made the world a more secure and prosperous place. And our leadership is necessary to underwrite the global security and prosperity that our children and our grandchildren will depend upon. We do so by adhering to a set of core principles. We do whatever is necessary to protect our people. We support our allies when they're in danger. We lead coalitions of countries to uphold international norms. And we strive to stay true to the fundamental values -- the desire to live with basic freedom and dignity -- that is common to human beings wherever they are. That's why people all over the world look to the United States of America to lead. And that's why we do it. The U.S. also started considering an operation with American ground troops to rescue the Yazidis in those
Sinjar Mountains. some of them advancing towards the Kurdish forces defending Erbil. On 8 and 9 August, Obama extended the purposes of the airstrikes of 8 August as to be: 1.) protecting Americans in Iraq; 2.) helping Iraqi minorities stranded on
Mount Sinjar; 3.) "break the siege of Mount Sinjar"; The U.S. airstrikes that day killed 16 ISIL fighters, Iraqi officials reported. On 10 August, U.S. forces launched a series of 5 air attacks which targeted ISIL armed vehicles as well as a mortar position. Assisted by these U.S. air attacks, Iraqi Kurdish forces claimed to have recaptured the Northern Iraqi towns of
Makhmur and Gweyr from ISIL control. An Iraqi airstrike conducted 9–11 August in
Sinjar killed 45 ISIL militants, Iraqi officials reported. On 12 August, the U.S. carried out airstrikes against ISIL mortar positions north of
Sinjar after ISIL had been firing on Kurdish forces protecting the Yazidis in the area. On 13 August, the U.S. government concluded that the situation of the remaining Yazidis in the Sinjar Mountains was "much more manageable" and less life-threatening, and that an American rescue operation was therefore not acutely necessary. Presumably a few thousand Yazidis still remained in those mountains.
Retaking Mosul Dam On 16 August, U.S. drones and warplanes began a
close air campaign aimed at supporting
the advance of Kurdish fighters moving toward the
Mosul Dam. Kurdish sources commented that this was the "heaviest U.S. bombing of militant positions since the start of air strikes." On 16 August there were 9 U.S. airstrikes in northern Iraq, on 17 August 2014. U.S. President Obama, in a letter to Congress on 17 August, explained this use of U.S. Forces as support to the Iraqi forces' campaign against terrorist group ISIL. Obama said on 18 August that Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Iraqi troops, with help from the U.S., had retaken the Mosul Dam from ISIL. Following the Iraqi victory, ISIL responded with the public execution of
David Haines. On 24 September, the
Dutch government decided to send six Fighter jets to contribute to the "international battle against ISIS (ISIL)" (see section '
Airstrikes'). On 26 September, the
British Parliament decided to authorize British airstrikes on ISIL as well. Britain then announced to cooperate with Iraqi and Kurdish intelligence agencies (see
Operation Shader). Also the
Belgian Parliament that day decided to start airstrikes on ISIL (see section '
Airstrikes'). Around 28 September 2014, airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition together with Iraqi Army ground forces clashing with ISIL militants halted an ISIL offensive by Amariya al-Falluja, 40 km (25 miles) west of
Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, a BBC reporter on the spot reported. On 30 September, the U.S. launched eleven airstrikes in Iraq and the
UK conducted their first two airstrikes in Iraq in this intervention. Together with eleven U.S. strikes in Syria against ISIL these 24 strikes were the highest number of strikes against ISIL on one day since 8 August. By the end of September 2014, the United States Navy and Air Force had conducted 240 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, as well as 1,300 tanker refueling missions, totaling 3,800 sorties by all types of aircraft.
October 2014 On 3 October 2014, the
Australian government authorized airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq (see
Operation Okra). On 2 October,
Denmarks Parliament authorized airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq (see section '
Airstrikes'). On 7 October, the
Canadian Parliament voted in favour of Canadian airstrikes against ISIL (see
Operation Impact). On 11 October, 10,000 ISIL troops headed from
Mosul and
Syria toward the Iraqi capital city of
Baghdad, and ISIL stood on the verge of taking the whole of
Al Anbar Governorate just west of Baghdad. The provincial council's deputy head, Al-Issawi, said they then requested Iraq's government to ask the U.S. to bring in ground forces; the Iraqi government however squarely denied having received such demand from Anbar. By 22 October, the U.S. had spent $424 million on both of its bombing campaigns against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
December 2014 During the early morning hours of 14 December, U.S. ground forces allegedly clashed with
ISIL alongside the
Iraqi Army and Tribal Forces near
Ein al-Asad base, west of Anbar, in an attempt to repel them from the base of which includes about 100 U.S. advisers in it, when ISIL attempted to overrun the base. A field commander of the Iraqi Army in Al Anbar Governorate, said that "the U.S. force equipped with light and medium weapons, supported by
F-18, was able to inflict casualties against fighters of ISIL organization, and forced them to retreat from the al-Dolab area, which lies 10 kilometers from Ain al-Assad base." Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a prominent tribal leader in the region, added that "U.S. forces intervened because of ISIL started to come near the base, which they are stationed in so out of self-defense," he responded, welcoming the U.S. intervention, and saying "which I hope will not be the last." This was said to be the first encounter between the United States and the Islamic State,
in four years, though this claim has been stated to be "false" by the Pentagon. In
the Kurdish Sinjar offensive, 17–22 December, Kurdish troops, aided by U.S. airstrikes, connected the
Sinjar Mountains to
Peshmerga territory, enabling the
Yazidis who stayed on the mountains to be evacuated. On 22 December, Kurdish Peshmerga forces pushed into the city of
Sinjar, taking control of much of the city. On 25 December 2014, Hassan Saeed Al-Jabouri, the ISIL governor of
Mosul, who was also known as Abu Taluut, was killed by a US-led Coalition airstrike in Mosul. It was also revealed that the U.S. planned to retake the city of Mosul in January 2015.
2015 January 2015 In mid-January 2015,
Canadian soldiers at the front lines between
Iraqi and ISIL troops exchanged fire with ISIL fighters. Canadians were not hurt, but they "neutralized" an unknown number of ISIL militants. On 20 January 2015, the SOHR reported that al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL, had been wounded in an airstrike in
Al-Qa'im, an Iraqi border town held by ISIL, and as a result, withdrew to Syria. On 21 January 2015, the U.S. began coordinating airstrikes with a Kurdish launched offensive, to help them begin the planned operation to retake the city of Mosul. On 29 January 2015, Canadian special forces in Iraq came under fire from ISIL forces, causing the Canadian troops to return fire, killing some ISIL militants.
February 2015 Jordan, which had been conducting airstrikes on ISIL in Syria since September 2014, initiated airstrikes on ISIL targets in Iraq on 4 February 2015 (see details in the
Airstrikes section). On 17 February, it was revealed that ISIL had launched another major assault on
Erbil, coming within of the city. By late February, it was reported that ISIL was beginning to use chemical weapons, due to the gradual weakening of the organization, and that the
Iraqi Army was expected to join the Liberation of Mosul sometime in April 2015.
March 2015 At the beginning of March, the Iraqi government announced that they would soon launch a military operation with the Kurdish
Peshmerga and other allies to regain the city of
Mosul, which was under ISIL control since 10 June 2014. On 10 March, U.S.-led warplanes dropped scraps of paper in
Mosul, advising residents to evacuate the city and stay away from ISIL locations, because of those imminent military operations. 18 March 2015 Coalition airstrike at the al-Baaj District, in the
Nineveh Governorate, near the Syrian border. It was reported that his wounds were so serious that the top ISIL leaders had a meeting to discuss who would replace him if he died. By 21 April, al-Bagdadi reportedly had not yet recovered enough from his injuries to resume daily control of ISIL. On 25 March 2015, the American-led Coalition joined the
Second Battle of Tikrit, launching its first airstrikes on ISIL targets in the city center. That night, U.S. aircraft carried out 17 airstrikes in the center of Tikrit, which struck an ISIL building, two bridges, three checkpoints, two staging areas, two
berms, a roadblock, and a command and control facility. The US-led Coalition continued conducting airstrikes in Tikrit until 31 March,
April 2015 On 8 April 2015, Iraqi forces, building on their
advances in the Saladin Governorate, launched an offensive to liberate the
Anbar Governorate from ISIL occupation, beginning with
an offensive in the region around east Ramadi, backed by Coalition aircraft. In retaliation, ISIL executed 300 people in the western Anbar Province. It was also reported that 10,000 Sunni tribal fighters would participate in the Anbar offensive. On 12 April, the Iraqi government declared that
Tikrit was free of ISIL forces, stating that it was safe for residents to return home. Despite this, many refugees from Tikrit still feared returning to the city. On 12 April, Abu Maria, the top ISIL leader in Tikrit, was killed by Iraqi forces at the Ajeel Oil Field near Tikrit, along with his top aide, after they were both caught trying to flee from the city. On 17 April, Iraqi forces in Tikrit located and killed 130 ISIL sleeper agents, finally ending the
Second Battle of Tikrit. Following this, cleanup operations to remove the 5,000–10,000
IEDs left behind by ISIL were expected to take several months. On 22 April 2015 Iraqi government sources reported that Abu Alaa Afri, the self-proclaimed Caliph's deputy and a former Iraqi physics teacher, had been installed as the stand-in leader while Baghdadi recuperates from his injuries.
May 2015 On 3 May 2015,
The Guardian reported that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was recovering from severe injuries he received from an 18 March 2015 airstrike, in a part of Mosul. It was also reported that al-Baghdadi's spinal injury, which left him incapacitated, means that he may never be able to fully resume direct command of ISIL. According to the Iraqi defence ministry
Abu Ala al-Afri, ISIL's Deputy Leader, was killed on 12 May 2015, in a US-led Coalition airstrike on a mosque in
Tal Afar, where al-Afri was holding a meeting with other ISIL senior leaders. Akram Qirbash, ISIL's top judge, was also killed in the airstrike. The U.S. Defense Department said that it could not corroborate the report. They were subsequently joined by civilian and
Defense Intelligence Agency analysts working for CENTCOM. Members of the groups began anonymously leaking details of the case to the press in late-August. In February 2017, the Inspector General of the
United States Department of Defense completed its investigation and cleared the senior leadership of CENTCOM, concluding that "allegations of intelligence being intentionally altered, delayed or suppressed by top CENTCOM officials from mid-2014 to mid-2015 were largely unsubstantiated."
October 2015 On 17 October 2015, an
MQ-1B Predator drone from
20th Attack Squadron,
432nd Wing, USAF, crashed after "experiencing electronic systems failure and loss of control due to a lightning strike" southeast of Baghdad; the drone was destroyed on impact. On 22 October 2015 during 30 U.S. special forces from
Delta Force and members of a Kurdish Counter-terrorism unit conducted a raid on an ISIL prison compound North of the town of
Hawija in Iraq's
Kirkuk province. The raid liberated approximately 70 hostages, including more than 20 members of the
Iraqi Security Forces.
Kurdistan Region asked U.S. special operations forces to support an operation to free hostages that were being held inside the prison and were going to be executed,
Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler was killed in the raid, he was the first American service member killed in action as a result of enemy fire while fighting ISIL and at the time he was the first American to be killed in action in Iraq since November 2011.
2016 training alongside Iraqi soldiers at
Camp Taji, January 2016
January 2016 The US-led coalition began targeting the IS
chemical weapons infrastructure with airstrikes and special forces raids, the coalition is focusing on destroying laboratories and equipment, whilst further special forces raids are planned to target IS chemical weapons experts.
February 2016 US officials reported that
Delta Force operatives have carried out operations to target, capture or kill top ISIL operatives in Iraq, reportedly beginning in late February 2016, after several weeks of covert preparation such as setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. The Delta Force operators are part of an Expeditionary Targeting Force that is also made up of operators from the U.S. military's "
Tier One" Special Operations units, numbering around 200 personnel. Their main objectives are to gather enough intelligence from raids on terrorist-occupied compounds and hideouts, then from intelligence gathered at those sites they will give the ETF more intelligence about ISIL networks and quickly attack additional and related targets, in what's known as "targeted" missions. This strategy was tested during the
May 2015 raid on Deir Ezzor in Syria. The ETF has so far collected enough intelligence about ISIL operations in Iraq in up to half a dozen locations that raids and field operations are ready to take place. In late-February, U.S. special forces captured Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, an ISIL senior chemical weapons engineer, in a raid in Badoosh, north-west of Mosul, there were no U.S. casualties. Afari's capture is the first known major success of this new strategy. On 19 March, Staff Sergeant
Louis F. Cardin, a field artilleryman with the Battalion Landing Team,
2nd Battalion 6th Marines,
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was killed by an ISIL rocket attack on
Firebase Bell near
Makhmur, 8 other Marines were also injured, the Marines returned fire with their artillery. The Marines from the 26th MEU first began moving into the area just 2 weeks before, deploying from the . The base will be used by the U.S. military to support the Iraqi 15th Division when they attempt to retake
Mosul and the Marines had finished setting up and testing their howitzers just 2 or 3 days before the attack. The joint taskforce overseeing the campaign against ISIL announced it was deploying additional Marines from the 26th MEU to Iraq to join the roughly 3,700 U.S. troops already deployed there to combat ISIS. There are already more than 4,000 Marines and sailors who have been deployed to Iraq since October.
April 2016 On 18 April 2016, U.S. Special forces and Kurdish forces launched a raid on
Hammam al-'Alil which killed
Salman Abu Shabib al-Jebouri; a senior IS commander who was a leading member of the IS military council, two of his aides were also killed. U.S. Defence Secretary
Ash Carter announced that the U.S. is to send 200 extra troops; the majority of them being special forces and 8
Apache attack helicopters to Iraq, the remainder will include trainers, security forces for the advisers, and maintenance crews for the Apaches, increasing the number of U.S. personnel in the country to around 4,100. The U.S. also plans to give Kurdish Peshmerga forces, more than $400m in assistance. On 25 April, a U.S. warplane dropped a guided bomb that destroyed an SUV occupied by IS leader Raphael Saihou Hostey near Mosul, Hostey was a recruiter for IS, U.S. drone operators had been stalking him for days before the order came to kill him.
May 2016 On 3 May 2016, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class
Charles Keating IV; a U.S. Navy SEAL, was killed by small arms fire during an ISIL assault on a Peshmerga position, approximately 3 to 5 kilometers behind enemy lines, near the town of
Tel Skuf, 28–30 km north of Mosul, the SEAL killed was part of a 30-man SEALs unit deployed to Iraq as part of a special forces advise and assist mission. 125 ISIL militants broke into the position using three truck bombs followed by bulldozers which cleared the wreckage away, the U.S. responded with 11 aircraft; F-15s F-16s, A-10s, B-52s and 2 drones carrying out 31 airstrikes; which destroyed two more truck bombs stopping the attack, 58 militants were killed and more than 20 of their vehicles were also destroyed, Keating was part of a Navy SEAL
quick reaction force called in by the Peshmerga. The IS attack is part of their attacks on multiple fronts overnight to obtain new ground, Iraqi military sources said that special forces had foiled an attack by five suicide bombers in the village of Khirbirdan and Peshmerga forces repelled an IS assault on Wardak. U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren labeled the offensive as one of the most complex battlefield operations launched by ISIL since December 2015. As of early May 2016, there are more than 5,500 U.S. military personnel in Iraq; 3,870 are deployed to advise and assist local forces fighting IS militants, the rest includes special operations personnel, logistics workers and troops on temporary rotations. On 6 May, a U.S. airstrike killed
Abu Wahib, a senior IS leader in Anbar, as well as 3 other ISIL militants in a vehicle in
Ar-Rutbah. On 17 May, the ISF took control of the city
Ar-Rutbah. ISIL lost control of the strategically important town and Anbar's mostly control. On 25 May, during
Operation Breaking Terrorism, U.S. airstrikes killed the commander of Daesh forces in Fallujah; Maher al-Bilawai in Fallujah. In late May, a U.S. special forces operator was indirectly wounded in an ISIL attack near Irbil.
June 2016 On 12 June, a U.S. Apache attack helicopter carried out a strike that destroyed an ISIL car bomb near Qayyarah, 50 miles south of Mosul in support of Iraqi forces positioning ahead of an operation to retake Mosul from insurgents. It was the first time since President Obama authorized the helicopters' use in offensive operations earlier this year. On 25 June, a U.S. airstrike near Mosul killed 2 senior ISIL commanders: one was Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, ISIL' deputy minister of war, who oversaw ISIS' efforts to capture Mosul in June 2014 and consolidated ISIL's control over Mosul, he also led the ISIL Jaysh al-Dabiq battalion known for using vehicle-borne IEDs, suicide bombers and mustard gas in its attacks. The other was Hatim Talib al-Hamduni, a military commander in the area and head of military police for self-proclaimed Ninawa state; together, they engaged in dictatorial rule and sectarian murder and oppression since 2014. On 29 June, in support of the
2016 Abu Kamal offensive—the offensive by the Syrian rebels from different factions that aims to capture
Abu Kamal in Syria and effectively split its territorial holdings in two and preventing the transfer of fighters and weapons between the two countries—on the Iraqi side of the border, U.S.-led coalition conducted five airstrikes near al-Qaim. Also that day in Fallujah, US-led coalition aircraft—including Iraqi aircraft, conducted airstrikes that killed at least 250 ISIL militants. Whilst Iraqi Security Forces fought them on the ground; the first strikes targeted a convoy of IS fighters trying to leave a neighborhood on the outskirts of southern Fallujah, destroying between 40 and 55 IS vehicles. A second convoy formed east of Ramadi later that day, coalition and Iraqi jets launched more strikes, destroying nearly 120 ISIL vehicles, but in both attacks, Iraqi Security Forces destroyed more. The figure of ISIL vehicles destroyed rose up to nearly 800—Iraq's Joint Operations Command said the country's forces destroyed 603 IS vehicles, whilst the Pentagon estimated that coalition strikes hit at least 175, but those figures could not be independently confirmed.
July 2016 On 11 July, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that the U.S. is sending 560 additional U.S. military personnel to Iraq, bringing the number of U.S. personnel in Iraq to about 4,650. They will be stationed at Qayyara airbase, which was recaptured on 9 July by Iraqi government forces being supported by U.S.-led airstrikes; most of them will serve in training and advisory roles, including engineers and logistics experts and with the airbase as a key staging area, they will assist local forces in the retaking of the IS stronghold of Mosul. Also, a new "Nineveh Liberation Operations Center" has been set up to coordinate the offensive, complete with dozens of U.S. and British advisers.
August 2016 On 5 August, the Pentagon announced about 400 U.S. soldiers would deploy south of Mosul to Qayarah airbase to aid in the operation to retake Mosul. observes a
HIMARS strike that destroyed a building near
Haditha, September 2016
September 2016 On 28 September,
The New York Times reported that U.S. officials said President Obama had authorized the sending of an additional 600 U.S. troops to Iraq to assist Iraqi forces in the upcoming battle to retake Mosul from IS.
October 2016 near Mosul, 16 October 2016 prepare to load a cargo onto an
C-17 on 27 October as part of the U.S.-led airstrikes supporting the Mosul offensive,
Al Udeid Air Base,
Qatar On 2 October, two Kurdish soldiers were killed and two French special forces operators were wounded by an IS drone north of Mosul, the drone was intercepted in flight and whilst they were examining the drone a small explosive device disguised as a battery blew up. Coalition forces are playing a key role in the
Battle of Mosul, on 17 October,
The Guardian reported that US, British and French special forces, which have been advising the Peshmerga, will play a prominent role in calling in airstrikes against ISIL targets inside the city. Adding that, according to the Pentagon, the U.S. deployed an additional 600 troops to aid in the city's capture, bringing the total number of U.S. personnel in Iraq to more than 5,200. On 19 October,
Stars and Stripes reported that U.S. Apache helicopters joined the battle, launching night attacks against IS militants. On 20 October,
Chief Petty Officer Jason C. Finan, of the
U.S. Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 who was attached to a SEAL team that was advising the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service, was killed in an improvised explosive device attack.
The Washington Post reported that Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said the Iraqi troops were attacked by Islamic State fighters and the SEAL team members decided to pull back along with the troops they were advising. Finan was in a vehicle and was telling other members of his team that he had spotted a roadside bomb when he was killed. It was reported that about 100 U.S. advisers - mostly Special Forces and forward air controllers, are moving with Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes and rocket artillery fire, in the ground offensive to drive the IS from Mosul.
November 2016 on 5 November 2016 On 1 November,
Stars and Stripes reported that U.S. special operators were at the front line on the edge of Mosul – just outside the village of Gogjali, with elite Iraqi troops from the U.S.-trained
Golden Division who were preparing to enter Mosul. The Americans wore black uniforms and drove black armoured vehicles to blend in with their Iraqi counterparts, U.S. special operators near Gogjali set up a mortar, unloaded a bazooka-style weapon and watched nearby fighting from a farmhouse roof; At around midday a drone the Americans had launched earlier stalled and crashed beside the farmhouse, breaking its wings and propeller. An Iraqi general told The Associated Press that later that day, Iraq's special forces entered the outskirts of Mosul, taking the state television building and advancing to the borders of Karama district despite fierce resistance by IS fighters. The Associated Press reported that as the sun went down, a sandstorm blew in, reducing visibility to only 100 yards and bringing the day's combat to an end, the AP reported. Meanwhile, U.S. Army engineers from the 101st Airborne Division also pushed closer to Mosul, searching for improvised bombs just west of the
Great Zab River.
December 2016 On 4 December, a coalition airstrike in Mosul killed Falah al-Rashidi, an ISIL leader who was involved in ISIL's use of vehicle bombs in Mosul, a spokesman for CJTF–OIR, Colonel John Dorrian said "His removal further degrades ISIL's [vehicle bomb] threat, which has been the enemy's weapon of choice for attacking Iraqi security forces and civilians." Also that day Abu Turq was killed in Sharqat, Dorrian said "he was killed in an airstrike while fighting from a rooftop position in Sharqat, where he and several other fighters were moving a heavy weapon to fire upon partner forces. His removal increases pressure on the ISIL financial network, which is already severely disrupted by several hundred strikes on oil infrastructure and bulk cache sites." On 21 December, an airstrike in Qaim killed Ahmad Abdullah Hamad al-Mahalawi, al-Mahalawi was ISIL senior in Qaim, Colonel John Dorrian a spokesman for CJTF–OIR said "His removal will disrupt ISIL's ability to conduct operations along the Euphrates River Valley." Later,
The Guardian reported that Brigadier General Haider Fadhil from Iraqi special forces said French officials tested the chemical and confirmed it was a mustard agent.
February 2017 during his visit to Iraq, 20 February 2017 On 11 February, the
Telegraph reported that Iraqi aircraft carried out an airstrike on a house in Anbar where ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was holding a meeting with senior ISIL commanders, killing more than a dozen.
March 2017 On 17 March, a U.S.-led coalition
airstrike in Mosul killed more than 200 civilians. On 27 March, it was reported that 300 paratroopers from the
82nd Airborne's 2d Brigade Combat Team will temporarily deploy to northern Iraq to provide additional advise-and-assist combating ISIL, particularly to speed up the offensive against ISIL in Mosul. On 29 March,
Stars and Stripes reported that 400 soldiers from the
1st Armoured division's headquarters element will deploy to Iraq in summer 2017, where it will lead the coalition's ground efforts. A study published in the journal
PLOS Medicine showed that U.S. Coalition forces killed more civilians than the Islamic State during the nine-month battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul than during the three-year occupation by the Islamic State
April 2017 On 1 April,
Military.com reported that Iraqi fighter jets carried out airstrikes on IS militants-who had crossed over the border from Syria-in the town of
Baaj near the Syrian border, killing between 150 and 200 militants. Reuters reported that Iraqi State TV said that, citing Iraq's military intelligence, an air strike in the region of al-Qaim killed
Ayad al-Jumaili, who was believed to be the "second-in-command" of ISIL. On 29 April,
Army Times reported that First Lieutenant Weston Lee of 1st Battalion,
325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division died from wounds received from the detonation of an IED during a patrol outside Mosul. trainers demonstrate
close-quarters combat techniques to Iraqi soldiers at
Camp Taji, July 2017
August 2017 On 13 August,
Stars and Stripes reported that 2 U.S. Soldiers of 2nd Battalion,
319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based at an undisclosed firebase in Iraq (where U.S. troops are supporting Iraqi forces in their ongoing offensive against ISIL militants after they ousted them from Mosul) were killed when an artillery round prematurely exploded, five others were also wounded in the blast.
October 2017 On 1 October, Specialist Alexander W. Missildine of the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, was killed by an
EFP (a type of improvised explosive that was first used by insurgents supplied by Iran with the help of Hezbollah for use against armored vehicles during the Iraq War) whilst traveling on a major road in Saladin Governorate or Nineveh Governorate, another soldier was wounded.
The Washington Post reported that the device had not been used in Iraq for six years and that ISIL did not make any public claim of responsibility after the attack, but that it did coincide with threats from some of the Iranian-backed Shia militias who fought with the U.S. against the ISIL but now want U.S. forces to leave the country now that ISIL is almost defeated. According to Greg Robin, an expert in explosive devices for the Sahan Research Group, the bomb has been used in Afghanistan, by al-Shabaab in Somalia and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
December 2017 On 9 December 2017, it is reported that ISIL had lost all strategic territory in Iraq. On 22 December, Australian Defense Minister
Marise Payne said that Australia will end air strikes against ISIL and bring its six Super Hornet planes back home. She also added that other Australian operations in the region would continue, with 80 personnel who are part of the Special Operations Task Group in Iraq, including Australian special forces, continuing their deployment. Australian soldiers have also been training Iraqi troops at the Taji military base outside Baghdad.
2018 February 2018 The U.S. announced that it would begin to reduce its troop levels in Iraq.
July 2018 As of 2 July 2018, the U.S. still maintains a military presence of 5,000 troops stationed in Iraq with the task of helping train and assist Iraqi forces.
October 2018 of the U.S. Army drill with the
Battelle DroneDefender in Iraq, 30 October 2018. U.S. troops anticipate ISIL units deploying drones during
reconnaissance or attacks On 4 October 2018, an operation against ISIL was started by the Iraqi military along with the military forces of
France and the United States under the
CJTF-OIR coalition in
Al Anbar Governorate around the city of
Qaim and the Syrian border where ISIL continues to operate and maintain a strong and large presence. During the operation ISIL claimed to thwart an American-led assault near the Syrian border and also claimed to have killed 3 U.S. soldiers and wounded 4 others in the clashes, the U.S. military has not confirmed or denied the claimed losses. On 5 October 2018, US-led Coalition planes bombed an ISIL position in the village of Kushaf near the
Tigris river in the Kirkuk Governorate, reportedly killing 6 ISIL members, on the same day ISIL detonated a roadside bomb killing an oil employee and injuring 11 others in a bus in Baiji in the Saladin Governorate, and in a separate attack in Fallujah in the Anbar Governorate ISIL detonated a
car bomb injuring an Iraqi policeman and 3 others.
December 2018 On 15 December 2018, A U.S. airstrike from a
B-1 Lancer bomber targeted a cave entrance West of
Mosul in the Atshana Mountains killing four ISIL fighters.
2019 in Iraq, 2019. Coalition forces supported SDF advances with airstrikes and cross-border artillery from Iraq On 31 December, angry protestors
attacked the United States embassy in Baghdad, in response to
the U.S. airstrike two days earlier against
Kata'ib Hezbollah militia.
Reuters reported that, in response, U.S. ambassador and staff have been evacuated, though this was denied by the U.S. Army. U.S. President
Donald Trump blamed
Iran for the attack.
2020 January 2020 Baghdad International Airport drone strike On 3 January 2020, United States forces carried out a missile strike that hit a convoy near
Baghdad International Airport, killing
Iranian
Major general Qasem Soleimani and
Popular Mobilization Forces leader
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. PMU spokesman
Ahmed Al Asadi confirmed the death of
Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike, blaming Israel and the United States. United States officials said "strikes [had] been carried out against two targets linked to Iran in Baghdad." In response to the airstrike, the Iraqi Parliament voted on 5 January 2020, to force foreign troops to withdraw from Iraq. U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced his objection to the withdrawal vote, and threatened to slap sanctions on Iraq if it were approved by the Iraqi government. On 7 January, Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi held a Cabinet meeting, where he declared his support for a removal of foreign troops and stated that it was the only way to de-escalate growing tension In addition to withdrawing some troops, U.K. Defence Minister Ben Wallace pledged a full withdrawal if asked to do so by the Iraqi government. Like the U.S., the French and Australian governments have also shown resistance to withdrawing troops from Iraq. France Defense Minister Florence Parly even stated that security had re-enforced for French troops stationed in and that they would continue to fight ISIS. On 23 January, in regards to ISIL activity in Iraq and northeastern Syria, ambassador
James Jeffrey stated there was no uptick in violence following the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on 3 January that killed Soleimani. Jeffrey said U.S.-led coalition operations have been on pause in Iraq as the focus has been on force protection and talks with the Baghdad government on the way forward after Iraq's parliament voted to expel foreign troops. He acknowledged that a pause in Iraq could hamper the fight against Islamic State if it continues. On 24 January, hundreds of thousands marched in Baghdad to protest the American troops' presence in Iraq. On 26 January, at least five Katyusha rockets attacked the U.S. embassy in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, wounding one person.
February 2020 Demand of U.S. troop withdrawal from military bases in Iraq On 10 February,
Iraqi parliament member Ali al-Ghanimi reported that the United States began to withdraw its troops from 15
military bases in
Iraq. The U.S. continued its presence in the
Ain al-Asad airbase in the
Anbar province and also at the one near the city of
Erbil. Following this, the Iraqi parliament pressed for American troops to "be withdrawn from all the bases". In the meantime, U.S. President
Donald Trump mentioned that Iraq should pay back the U.S. for the facilities built there, if the U.S. military leaves, from Iraqi money held in the U.S. Otherwise the troops would stay in Iraq. Moreover, the Trump administration drafted sanctions against Iraq whether they expel U.S. troops. Later on, U.S. military offered to partially withdraw from bases near Shia-majority areas such as
Balad Air Base, but Ain al-Asad was a "red line".
March 2020 coalition transfers the
K-1 Air Base to
Iraqi security forces, 21 March 2020 On 9 March, the Pentagon released a statement claiming that two American Marines were killed during an anti-ISIS operation in a mountainous area of north central Iraq. Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesman for the OIR coalition, later identified the Marines, who were also MARSOC Raiders, and that they died during an operation which also claimed the lives of four ISIS fighters during an American-led operation which involved clearing an ISIS cave complex in the Makhmur Mountains, south of Erbil. On 11 March, two Americans and one British soldier from the
Royal Army Medical Corps, were killed after targeting the
Camp Taji with 15
Katyusha rockets. The attack also left 12 other persons wounded of which 5 were critically injured. On 13 March after midnight, U.S. launched air raids against
Kata'ib Hezbollah facilities in
Karbala and
Babylon.
April 2020 On 7 April, the
International Coalition withdrew from the Abu Ghraib operating base, the al-Sqoor base inside Nineveh operation command and the
Al-Taqaddum Air Base, handing the control to the Iraqi security forces.
June–July 2020 In June 2020, coalition aircraft destroyed three ISIL camps in northern Iraq. In early July 2020, a
Katyusha rocket launched from the Ali al-Saleh area of Baghdad towards the Green Zone injured a child and damaged a house after it landed south of its target.
2021 January 2021 On 27 January 2021, during a joint operation led by the
Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), the coalition killed ISIL's leader in Iraq,
Abu Yasser al-Issawi, in an air strike on an underground hideout in Kirkuk. Al-Issawi was ISIL's "wali" (governor) of its Iraqi operations and allegedly the group's overall second-in-command according to Iraqi authorities, though that ranking could not be independently verified. The operation, which also included raids on guesthouses, killed nine other ISIL members and was in retaliation for the
Baghdad bombings that killed 32 Iraqis a week prior, officials added.
December 2021 The U.S. formally concluded its combat mission in Iraq on 9 December 2021, leaving the 2,500 troops remaining in the country to serve as trainers and advisors to the
Iraqi security forces. == Humanitarian efforts ==